The Women’s department of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) in the Grand Mosque has been expanded with more officials with the aim of beefing up its efforts to prevent men and women mixing during the Haj season.
The recruited women, who are postgraduate degree holders, have also been trained to handle languages such Turkish, English and Urdu, some of the major languages spoken by Haj pilgrims, Al-Hayat daily reported quoting a reliable source at the Haia on Saturday.
The Haia give special emphasis on proficiency of the workers in foreign languages because a considerable number of the Haj pilgrims do not understand Arabic.
The three-week language proficiency programs organized by the Haia for its officials focused on the most commonly used words in the major languages, the source said.
Women officials have also been sent to attend programs to develop their supervisory skills and work pressure management at the women’s campus of the Umm Al-Qura University, the source added.
Spokesman of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, Ahmed Al-Mansouri, said the Haia set up a women’s department to regulate women’s prayers inside the Grand Mosque.
The department also prevents women mixing with men and instruct the pilgrims to behave in a gentle manner especially when they are in a crowded environment. The department will be working not only in the Haj season but year-round.
He added that the number of its workers would be increased during the Haj season particularly on the days of throwing at the Jamrat and the Tawaf Al-Wida (farewell circumambulation).
He said their duties also included instructing women pilgrims to perform the sunnah prayer after the circumambulation of Kaaba at locations away from men behind the Maqam Ibrahim, not to sit on the steps of the mataf (area of circumambulation), escalators, staircases and gates to the Grand Mosque. Women must also restrict themselves at the locations marked for women.
Women guides at the Grand Mosque have been looking after the areas allocated for women inside the mosque besides supervising cleaning of prayer carpets and hygienic standard of toilets and the locations where Zamzam water is supplied to women.
Women officials also arranges the copies of the Holy Qur’an available at the women’s locations and arrange women worshippers in proper lines and discourage women who stand praying out side their special locations when the obligatory prayers start, the source said.
Women Haia members to enforce mixing ban
